On the record: Gutmann talks mental health

The fight for better mental health at Penn is not yet a mission accomplished but it is an integral part of the University’s overall mission, according to Penn President Amy Gutmann.

In an email to all undergraduates last week, Penn’s administration announced new mental health initiatives without directly referencing the recent series of student deaths, an omission that earned criticism from the student body. But Gutmann spoke candidly with The Daily Pennsylvanian about what is being done — and what there still is to do — to address the crisis.

The following transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

The Daily Pennsylvanian: Can you speak to the expanding responsibility put on universities to ensure the safety of their students? From mental health to sexual assault, universities are being asked to do more than just educate. How should a university be expected to balance the objectives of educating students and keeping them safe?

Amy Gutmann: I avidly believe that universities have the mission of educating the whole person, as not only the mind, but the hearts of their students, and it’s a very encompassing mission that we have. I think that’s not new ... it’s something that we’ve had and take very seriously.

DP: On a related note, how much should we expect universities to do to provide for the mental health of their students? Is there any way to measure success? And is there a point at which universities, including Penn, should say that they’ve done all they can?

AG: Let me emphasize this — I said it at the beginning of the University Council meeting — The emotional and mental well-being of our students is of fundamental importance. It is an ongoing mission of the University. It’s not a mission accomplished. It’s something that we do and need to do day in and day out, so the work of the Penn task force is ongoing, and we’ve been implementing their recommendations as they’re developed, and we will continue to look for the best things we can do and continue to strengthen the resources that are available to students in need.

I want to emphasize how much we all grieve for Amanda Hu and Theo Reed and the students whose lives were tragically shortened. Amanda and Theo were wonderful members of the Penn community. We love them, we admire them, their family and friends are grieving, we feel their loss deeply. And we are incredibly compassionate in doing all the outreach we can do for the students and family and friends and staff who are trying nobly to cope and support one another and council one another.

We do our best to comfort shattered parents, families, distraught friends. We search our hearts and minds for the best ways to move forward, despite the suffering. All of that we do and must do, and care about doing, in addition to highlighting the resources that are available proactively for all members of our community to cope with the stresses and the strains of life.

[A]nd through these tragedies, our highest priorities have been dually to honor the wishes ... of families and to keep up emotional strength of the students, faculty and staff.

DP: Is there any particular message you’d like to send to concerned parents, as well as prospective students?

AG: Yes, I think it’s important for everybody to recognize that our highest priority is to help those who are grieving, and to provide all the resources we can possibly provide to our students so they can go on with the wonderful work — both in class and co-curricular work — that is a signature part of the Penn experience.

I also want to communicate that we’re always looking for better ways of helping here. We’re always ... doing continual outreach to members of our community, and we’re a community of hearts and minds together. And that’s something that is important for us all, and I hope that everybody takes as much advantage as they can and wish to of the resources and the people here who want to help.

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